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Contractions started at 6am sharp. They were every 10 minutes and I knew it was the real thing after about an hour. It was crazy because we were trying to decide if Travis should go preach at church or stay home! At 7:30 we decided he should go at least do the 9am service. I knew he was conflicted as he walked out the door, but I knew it is what he should do. My contractions stayed constant and if I was moving around they were every 4-5 minutes. If I was sitting they were every 10 minutes. I called the midwife and we arranged for when she should come over. Travis got back from church around 10:30 and the midwife came around 11:30. She checked me and I was 5 cm.

She took my vitals and told me to go walking. Then she set everything up and left for a while so I could just keep walking. Travis and I headed outside to walk... and then quickly turned around when we realized how dumb it was to walk at noon in South Florida. So I did laps in our house with Kourtney. She was a great partner. I would stop for a contraction and she would rub my back and pat me and then start walking again! Travis asked at what point it was inappropriate for him to keep watching football. I told him to watch away and I even watched a few drives with him - very fitting that his son would be born on a football day.

She came back and checked me around 2:30 and I was 6-7 cm. The contractions were getting more intense and I was starting to feel a little crazy with them. At 3:00 I asked if I could get in the tub so they began to prepare the water.

Water
As I was standing by the tub about to get in my water broke. The fluid was clear. That was at 3:15. When I got in the water it felt awesome for the pain. I didn't want Travis to touch me during contractions. I just wanted to squeeze his hand off. I think it was about an hour later that I started to really lose it. I wasn't really feeling the urge to push, but I was 9.5 cm, only just a lip left of my cervix. The midwife asked if I wanted her to push it away with a contraction - OMG I could not handle that. So we waited and a few minutes later I started to push. I still was not feeling an overwhelming urge like I did with the girls. So I got out of the water thinking it was maybe to buoyant in there to feel it.

Birth stool
I sat on the birthing stool. Not feeling the urge to push I said, "Someone is gonna need to count because I am way too organized to not count." Travis and I laugh about that now. But at the moment I was so desperate to push him out. The counting helped since I wasn't feeling the urge, but I didn't have a place to rest during contractions on the birth stool. I got dizzy and almost passed out. So they moved me to the bed and had me get on my hands and knees.

Bed
I was talking like an insane person. Saying I couldn't do it (which I really believed I couldn't), that I didn't want to push, that I didn't feel the urge to push, asking if the baby was okay, if I was pushing hard enough, why he wasn't moving down, etc... I don't know what happened, but something snapped and I thought, I really need to get this baby out. So I started pushing with all my might (still with no terrible urge like my last two deliveries). I could feel his head come right down and then go back up, so I knew I was close. I pushed a bit more and then his head came out. It was an awesome feeling to be almost done! I remember asking what to do and not getting an answer, so I just pushed him the rest of the way out. He immediately started crying and was very pink. They handed him to me through my legs and I plopped down in relief! Of course the first thing I did was look for his little pee pee! It was there and he was here and so perfect! I think I pushed for a little over an hour.

I got onto my back to hold him while they wiped him off, Travis cut the cord, and they wrapped him up and put a hat on him. We called the family up and the girls came to meet him first. Everyone was so excited. My mom told me later she just wanted to hear, "It's a boy!"

We gave everyone a chance to meet him and then the midwives and al the family went down for a snack while I nursed. Blake is a great nurser. He latched on about 30 minutes after he was born and hasn't stopped since! I have used a few ounces of formula when he was hungry and I didn't have my milk yet. He's eating and sleeping great though.

After he nursed they came up to weigh and measure him and check me out. My tears weren't that bad. The midwife numbed me up and started stitching. I had 6 stitches and they have not really hurt that bad. The worst pain has been the cramping after because I am only on Tylenol and at the hospital you get percaset (sp?)! All of my abdominal muscles are sore and my back aches and it hurts to cough or laugh. I guess from just pushing so hard. I burst a blood vessel in my eye and that was freaky.

Definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but very worth it. It was a great experience and we have a beautiful baby boy!

__________________
"I trust birth—not birth attendants—for if you only trust birth that is attended then you really don't trust birth at all. You trust the attendant. And then you start over. Who? Doctor, surgeon, CNM, CPM, SIM? And it goes on and on...." - Carla Hartley
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -Gandhi
"What good fortune for those in power that people do not think." - Adolph Hitler

Contractions started at 6am sharp. They were every 10 minutes and I knew it was the real thing after about an hour. It was crazy because we were trying to decide if Travis should go preach at church or stay home! At 7:30 we decided he should go at least do the 9am service. I knew he was conflicted as he walked out the door, but I knew it is what he should do. My contractions stayed constant and if I was moving around they were every 4-5 minutes. If I was sitting they were every 10 minutes. I called the midwife and we arranged for when she should come over. Travis got back from church around 10:30 and the midwife came around 11:30. She checked me and I was 5 cm.

She took my vitals and told me to go walking. Then she set everything up and left for a while so I could just keep walking. Travis and I headed outside to walk... and then quickly turned around when we realized how dumb it was to walk at noon in South Florida. So I did laps in our house with Kourtney. She was a great partner. I would stop for a contraction and she would rub my back and pat me and then start walking again! Travis asked at what point it was inappropriate for him to keep watching football. I told him to watch away and I even watched a few drives with him - very fitting that his son would be born on a football day.

She came back and checked me around 2:30 and I was 6-7 cm. The contractions were getting more intense and I was starting to feel a little crazy with them. At 3:00 I asked if I could get in the tub so they began to prepare the water.

Water
As I was standing by the tub about to get in my water broke. The fluid was clear. That was at 3:15. When I got in the water it felt awesome for the pain. I didn't want Travis to touch me during contractions. I just wanted to squeeze his hand off. I think it was about an hour later that I started to really lose it. I wasn't really feeling the urge to push, but I was 9.5 cm, only just a lip left of my cervix. The midwife asked if I wanted her to push it away with a contraction - OMG I could not handle that. So we waited and a few minutes later I started to push. I still was not feeling an overwhelming urge like I did with the girls. So I got out of the water thinking it was maybe to buoyant in there to feel it.

Birth stool
I sat on the birthing stool. Not feeling the urge to push I said, "Someone is gonna need to count because I am way too organized to not count." Travis and I laugh about that now. But at the moment I was so desperate to push him out. The counting helped since I wasn't feeling the urge, but I didn't have a place to rest during contractions on the birth stool. I got dizzy and almost passed out. So they moved me to the bed and had me get on my hands and knees.

Bed
I was talking like an insane person. Saying I couldn't do it (which I really believed I couldn't), that I didn't want to push, that I didn't feel the urge to push, asking if the baby was okay, if I was pushing hard enough, why he wasn't moving down, etc... I don't know what happened, but something snapped and I thought, I really need to get this baby out. So I started pushing with all my might (still with no terrible urge like my last two deliveries). I could feel his head come right down and then go back up, so I knew I was close. I pushed a bit more and then his head came out. It was an awesome feeling to be almost done! I remember asking what to do and not getting an answer, so I just pushed him the rest of the way out. He immediately started crying and was very pink. They handed him to me through my legs and I plopped down in relief! Of course the first thing I did was look for his little pee pee! It was there and he was here and so perfect! I think I pushed for a little over an hour.

I got onto my back to hold him while they wiped him off, Travis cut the cord, and they wrapped him up and put a hat on him. We called the family up and the girls came to meet him first. Everyone was so excited. My mom told me later she just wanted to hear, "It's a boy!"

We gave everyone a chance to meet him and then the midwives and al the family went down for a snack while I nursed. Blake is a great nurser. He latched on about 30 minutes after he was born and hasn't stopped since! I have used a few ounces of formula when he was hungry and I didn't have my milk yet. He's eating and sleeping great though.

After he nursed they came up to weigh and measure him and check me out. My tears weren't that bad. The midwife numbed me up and started stitching. I had 6 stitches and they have not really hurt that bad. The worst pain has been the cramping after because I am only on Tylenol and at the hospital you get percaset (sp?)! All of my abdominal muscles are sore and my back aches and it hurts to cough or laugh. I guess from just pushing so hard. I burst a blood vessel in my eye and that was freaky.

Definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but very worth it. It was a great experience and we have a beautiful baby boy![/b]